Moving extremely heavy loads has generally been a complicated task because of the large forces involved in lifting and transporting the heavy loads. In known mounting structures, large loads may be transported by disassembling or breaking up the load or the mounting structure into multiple smaller sections and/or loads. However, this break-down and subsequent reassembly process can be very time consuming, especially when a heavy load is only to be moved a small distance, or needs to be repositioned.
For heavy loads that need periodic movement or adjustment, devices commonly referred to as “walking machines” or “walkers” were developed. These machines may be configured to move the heavy loads over small distances in incremental stages. For example, walking machines may be used to move large structures, such as oil rigs, in order to position them over pre-drilled pipes in oil fields.
In other types of systems, heavy duty axle assemblies have been developed to transport and/or support heavy loads. The axle assemblies may include hydraulic lift functionality, such as a hydraulic cylinder that is typically welded directly to the axle assembly to provide a rigid connection that can withstand the resulting stress from carrying the heavy load.
Locations where oil rigs operate may provide for extreme temperature variations, humidity, dust and/or other particulates, and other environmental conditions that, in addition to the wear and tear that results from moving the heavy loads, may result in frequent maintenance or repair of the load transport systems. For example, it is not uncommon for a lift cylinder or cylinder rod to fail and need to be replaced and/or serviced while a transportable oil rig is at the work site.
In situations where the lift cylinder rod fails, the lift cylinder rod together with the axle assembly is typically removed from operation and replaced with an entirely different assembly. This, of course, requires the operator of the oil rig to have a spare axle assembly on hand, and typically the old axle assembly would be transported to a repair facility so that the hydraulic cylinder can be removed from the axle assembly and be repaired. Even in situations where on-site maintenance of the lift cylinder rod may be performed, e.g., by torch cutting the weldment, the physical removal of the lift cylinder rod from the axle assembly may result in a material weakening of the metal plates or other components of the weldment, which may lead to further failures of the axle assembly or components thereof.
The present invention addresses these and other problems.